Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 22, 2026
Fluorescence-mediated Tomography for the Detection and Quantification of Macrophage-related Murine Intestinal Inflammation
Published on: December 15, 2017
Macrophages shine bright
1LUDWIG MAXIMILIAN UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH; AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY; GERMAN CENTRE FOR CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH.
In this issue of Blood, Iqbal et al created a novel mouse model with a strong expression of green fluorescence protein (GFP) in monocytes, tissue resident macrophages, and inflammatory macrophages, and may provide an important tool for future studies focusing on macrophage biology. Several transgenic mice with expression of fluorescent proteins in myeloid cells exist, among them the CCR2-RFP and the CX3CR1GFP mouse. However, both of these mice have several limitations: they are knock-in constructs under control of chemokine receptors with potential effects on monocyte mobilization from the bone marrow, recruitment to sites of inflammation, or survival. Alteration of chemokine receptor expression during macrophage differentiation may affect expression of fluorescent proteins and thus render macrophages nonfluorescent.
In this issue of Blood, Iqbal et al created a novel mouse model with a strong expression of green fluorescence protein (GFP) in monocytes, tissue resident macrophages, and inflammatory macrophages, and may provide an important tool for future studies focusing on macrophage biology. Several transgenic mice with expression of fluorescent proteins in myeloid cells exist, among them the CCR2-RFP and the CX3CR1GFP mouse. However, both of these mice have several limitations: they are knock-in constructs under control of chemokine receptors with potential effects on monocyte mobilization from the bone marrow, recruitment to sites of inflammation, or survival. Alteration of chemokine receptor expression during macrophage differentiation may affect expression of fluorescent proteins and thus render macrophages nonfluorescent.
